US welcomes Turkish troop decision

The United States today welcomed Turkey's decision to send troops to join the US-led force in Iraq, downplaying resistance to the deployment from Iraq's interim leadership.

The White House and State Department said Washington was pleased with the Turkish parliament's approval of the plan, saying Turkish troops in Iraq would help stabilisation efforts.

"We welcome that decision and we will be working with Turkish officials on the details of their decision," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

At the State Department, spokesman Richard Boucher echoed those remarks, adding: "The United States believes that Turkish troops would contribute to stability in Iraq."

Secretary of State Colin Powell called his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul "to say we appreciate the decision that was taken," a State Department official said.

Not everyone appeared to share those sentiments, notably the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, which unanimously adopted a resolution opposing a Turkish troop deployment.

"The council is unanimous in issuing a communique against the sending of Turkish forces to Iraq," council member Mahmud Othman said in Baghdad. "It is the wrong thing to do. It does not add to security.

"It is not useful," said Othman, whose Kurdish ethnic group has a long history of bad blood with the Turks. "This is our (the council's) position and it is unanimous."

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the "governing council does not want any of Iraq's immediate neighbours to take part in peacekeeping missions."

However, an expected formal announcement of the council's communique was not immediately forthcoming, prompting speculation that the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority, the occupying power, had either delayed or squelched it.

Boucher said Washington was unaware of any "formal" statement of opposition from the council, although he allowed that individual members had expressed negative views of a Turkish deployment.

"We haven't seen any formal governing council statement or communique regarding the Turkish decision," he told reporters.

Boucher added that the United States would work with both Turkey and the council on the details of Ankara's contribution.

"We are confident that a Turkish contribution could further the process of achieving stability in Iraq for the benefit of the governing council and the Iraqi people," he said.

"We'll be working with the governing council as well as with the Turkish government on the details of that contribution," he said. "We expect there to be different views and some debate."

The Turkish parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of sending an undetermined number of troops to Iraq in what is seen as a way to make up for its refusal on March 1 to allow its territory to be used as a springboard to attack Iraq.

The government, backed by the army, believes military involvement will give Ankara a say in future developments in Iraq and the region, and will convince the United States to take action against 5,000 Turkish Kurd rebels hiding in northern Iraq.

The decision limits the deployment to a maximum of one year, but does not specify how many soldiers would be sent and to which part of Iraq.

Once the deployment goes ahead, Turkey will be third mainly Muslim country to send troops to Iraq, after Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

Its forces will join more than 155,000 troops from 34 countries, with the United States providing the vast majority of soldiers.